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giving up alcohol not drugs? anyone go this route?

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  • 27-06-2010 12:15am
    #1
    enaekleon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭


    was wondering of anyone gave up alcohol but continued to enjoy recreational drugs without major life consequences. your experiences or thoughts on this please?


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    #2
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Maybe if it's a very seldom occurrence you might be OK, but tbh do you really need to be told that it's probably not a great idea?


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    #3
    CatHerder
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭CatHerder


    I've thought about substituting cannabis for drink because drink is causing me a problem. But to be honest with myself, what if I develop a problem with cannabis too. It seems that once you develop the problem you have it for life. Do you really need another vice? :)


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    #4
    Shulgin
    Registered Users Posts: 688 ✭✭✭Shulgin


    I gave up alcohol a few years back because of the horrible physical and mental side effects. I continue to use cannabis, ghb, mushrooms, mdma, lsd, and others which are far less damaging than alcohol.

    Suits me just fine.

    I don`t have much of an addictive personality, so addiction isn't a problem for me.


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    #5
    Herbal Deity
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,397 ✭✭✭Herbal Deity


    I'm considering this myself.

    I've always found alcohol to be far more pointless and damaging than anything else.

    As long as you make sure you moderate your drug intake, I'd go for it. i.e. I wouldn't replace binge drinking 2/3 times a week with drug binges 2/3 times a week, but a joint a night or two a week, and mdma every 2/3 months would be what I'd aim for.


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    #6
    soberasajudge
    Registered Users Posts: 37 ✭soberasajudge


    Rojomcdojo wrote: »
    Maybe if it's a very seldom occurrence you might be OK, but tbh do you really need to be told that it's probably not a great idea?


    Good call Rojomcdogo, im over a year clean and sober meself and i know from personal experience that the two pretty much go hand in hand


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    #7
    derealbadger
    Registered Users Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭derealbadger


    im an alcoholic who loved Columbian nose candy but to get sober I had to also get clean I go to A.A but not to N.A as drugs while I loved them did not work the same way for me as drink .once I took the first drink I could not say when I would take the last one as it was no longer a choice to be made by me i have been in cop shops with no recollection of how I got there and once a mental hospital also in a foreign country today thank god I no longer feel that I have lost drink but feel I have been given sobriety life has its ups and downs I am going through some really heavy stuff at the moment but I don't need or want to take a drink and for me that is a miracle


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    #8
    doctorwu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 86 ✭✭doctorwu


    A friend of mine done this this guy was a alcoholic who was not that much into drugs(he dabbled) within 18 months he was addicted to perscription drugs prescribed by the HSE. Hes now. like a sleepwalker. Hes there but only partially the HSE tried to reduce his pill intake but he resisted so they kept up his dosage even more damage done. He was a lovely bloke the situation is very sad.


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    #9
    Herbal Deity
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,397 ✭✭✭Herbal Deity


    soberasajudge wrote: »
    Good call Rojomcdogo, im over a year clean and sober meself and i know from personal experience that the two pretty much go hand in hand
    I disagree.

    There is a culture which exists which involves both heavy drinking combined with drug use, with the goal seemingly to get as out of it as possible. This is probably where you've experienced them going hand in hand, and unfortunately, in my experience this would be the most common kind of drug user.

    But this is not the case all the time.

    Like I said, it's pointless to be giving up alcohol if you're just going to substitute it with drug binges, but if you are capable of moderating your usage, I think it's a positive step.

    Alcohol has horrible side effects and getting sucked into the Irish culture of getting pissed every weekend is pretty crap, but I don't believe the remedy for everyone is complete sobriety. Different strokes...


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    #10
    derealbadger
    Registered Users Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭derealbadger


    Herbal Deity wrote: »
    I disagree.

    There is a culture which exists which involves both heavy drinking combined with drug use, with the goal seemingly to get as out of it as possible. This is probably where you've experienced them going hand in hand, and unfortunately, in my experience this would be the most common kind of drug user.

    But this is not the case all the time.

    Like I said, it's pointless to be giving up alcohol if you're just going to substitute it with drug binges, but if you are capable of moderating your usage, I think it's a positive step.

    Alcohol has horrible side effects and getting sucked into the Irish culture of getting pissed every weekend is pretty crap, but I don't believe the remedy for everyone is complete sobriety. Different strokes...

    i agree with you if you are talking about heavy drinkers but if you are talking about alcoholics im afraid any form of mind altering substance is just playing Russian roulette


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    #11
    mickman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,661 ✭✭✭mickman


    doctorwu wrote: »
    A friend of mine done this this guy was a alcoholic who was not that much into drugs(he dabbled) within 18 months he was addicted to perscription drugs prescribed by the HSE. Hes now. like a sleepwalker. Hes there but only partially the HSE tried to reduce his pill intake but he resisted so they kept up his dosage even more damage done. He was a lovely bloke the situation is very sad.

    why was he put on meds in the first place? depresion from the drink?


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    #12
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    mickman wrote: »
    why was he put on meds in the first place? depresion from the drink?

    Sounds like benzo pills to me, possibly to help with the alcohol withdrawal?


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    #13
    WalterMitty
    Registered Users Posts: 1,582 ✭✭✭WalterMitty


    Rojomcdojo wrote: »
    Sounds like benzo pills to me, possibly to help with the alcohol withdrawal?
    They only give very limited supplies of benzos for alcohol withdrawal. Some GPa hand them out like smarties but the psychiatrists are generally very strict.


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    #14
    sobervillage
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭sobervillage


    enaekleon wrote: »
    was wondering of anyone gave up alcohol but continued to enjoy recreational drugs without major life consequences. your experiences or thoughts on this please?
    Hello. If you are an addict to alcohol or drugs then you must give up all mind altering substances. Because if you take a few pills lets say then your mind alters, I mean thats what you are doing it for in the first place. When we alter our mind we then have no control over the actions that come along with that, for an addict it could mean overusage of drugs or mixing it with alcohol and then an OD can occur.

    Its best to have a cleaar head by staying away from all mind altering substances


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    #15
    tenchi-fan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,339 ✭✭✭tenchi-fan


    I was considering substituting weed for alcohol.

    But then I thought, why substitute one bad habit for another. It's been proven that cannabis can damage your lungs more than a cigarette with a filter. It also costs quite a bit of money (albeit not as much as booze). The laws concerned possession are pretty stringent. You can end up stinking of weed.

    And you may get addicted, not physically but possibly psychologically. Any mind-altering substance causes a chemical imbalance in your brain so you're leaving yourself wide open to paranoia and depression.


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